John Mahoney

Actor

Male

BornJun 20, 1940

John Mahoney is an American actor, best known for playing Martin "Marty" Crane in the American sitcom Frasier on NBC. Born in England, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1959. He started his career on the stage in 1977, moving into film in 1980. He appeared in Frasier from its inception in 1993 until the final episode in 2004. He has also worked as a voice actor, and performed on Broadway and in Chicago theatre.… Read More

'\n When actor <mark>John Mahoney</mark> sat down to fill out his ballot for this year\'s Oscar nominations, he did what he always does. The 75-year-old longtime academy member, known for his work in films such as \"Say Anything...\" and as the lovably gruff dad on the sitcom \"Frasier,\" said he simply chose what he... \n '

' \n \nLawyers in motion pictures have been portrayed as one of two extremes, devils or angels, almost since celluloid was invented. The first film dealing specifically with a law firm and attorneys, 1933\'s Counsellor at Law, starring John Barrymore, portrayed its J.D.s as upstanding citizens, as did the early Perry Mason films of the same period. This quickly changed, however, with many attorneys portrayed as being capable of the same brand of skullduggery as their shifty clients. With that...

' \n \n \nLawyers in motion pictures have been portrayed as one of two extremes, devils or angels, almost since celluloid was invented. The first film dealing specifically with a law firm and attorneys, 1933\'s Counsellor at Law, starring John Barrymore, portrayed its J.D.s as upstanding citizens, as did the early Perry Mason films of the same period. This quickly changed, however, with many attorneys portrayed as being capable of the same brand of skullduggery as their shifty clients. With...

Timeline

Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of John Mahoney.

CHILDHOOD

1940Birth
Born on June 20, 1940.

THIRTIES

197737 Years Old
Dissatisfied with his career, Mahoney took acting classes at St. Nicholas Theatre, which inspired him to quit his day job and pursue acting full-time, and after a stage production in 1977, John Malkovich encouraged him to join Steppenwolf Theatre.
… Read More

He did so and went on to win the Clarence Derwent Award as Most Promising Male Newcomer. Gary Sinise, co-founder of Steppenwolf, said in an interview for Bomb Magazine that Lyle Kessler's play Orphans "kicked John Mahoney, Kevin Anderson and Terry Kinney off into the movie business" after their Steppenwolf performance in it where he won the Derwent Award and the Theatre World Award. He won Broadway's Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in John Guare's The House of Blue Leaves.<br /><br /> Mahoney's first major film role was in the 1987 Barry Levinson film Tin Men. He went on to have prominent roles in a number of acclaimed films throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, including Eight Men Out, Say Anything, In the Line of Fire, Reality Bites, and The American President. He has appeared in two Coen brothers films: Barton Fink and The Hudsucker Proxy. Read Less

FIFTIES

199353 Years Old
Mahoney appeared in Frasier from its inception in 1993 until the final episode in 2004; Mahoney received two Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations for this role.
… Read More

He played the role of Martin "Marty" Crane, the father of Frasier Crane and Niles Crane. NBC executives so highly esteemed Mahoney that Warren Littlefield declared he was pre-approved when the Frasier creative team suggested casting him as the father. Prior to appearing on the series, Mahoney appeared in episode 5 season 11 of Cheers as inept jingle writer Sy Flembeck and has a brief conversation with Frasier Crane. Mahoney also appeared as a priest in Becker which starred Cheers star Ted Danson.<br /><br /> Mahoney's first voice job was in W. B. Yeats' "The Words upon the Window-Pane" for the award-winning National Radio Theater of Chicago. He provided the voices for several characters in the animated film Antz (1998), Preston Whitmore in Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Atlantis: Milo's Return, General Rogard in The Iron Giant (1999), and Kronk's Papi in Kronk's New Groove (but is succeeded by Jeff Bennett in The Emperor's New School). Read Less

LATE ADULTHOOD

200262 Years Old
Along with David Hyde Pierce, Mahoney is godfather to Frasier co-star Jane Leeves's son Finn. Mahoney has scarcely talked about his private life, but in a 2002 article he revealed he has been in several relationships, although he has never married.
… Read More

In 2007, he provided the voice of Dr. Robert Terwilliger Sr. (Sideshow Bob's father) in The Simpsons episode "Funeral for a Fiend". This reunited him with his Frasier co-stars Kelsey Grammer (Sideshow Bob) and David Hyde Pierce (Cecil, Sideshow Bob's brother). Mahoney co-starred as The Old Man in the Broadway revival of the play Prelude to a Kiss at the American Airlines Theater in a limited-run engagement from previews February 17, 2007 through April 29, 2007.

He appeared as an elderly drag queen in the ER season 13 episode "Somebody to Love", and co-starring as Steve Carell's father (himself a veteran of Chicago theatre) in the 2007 romantic comedy film Dan in Real Life.

200868 Years Old
In March 2008, he opened in the world premiere of Better Late at the Northlight Theatre.
… Read More

He is also the narrator for Midwest Airlines commercials. Mahoney also made two appearances on USA's Burn Notice in the second (2009) and third (2010) season finales. His character, referred to only as "Management", is a senior intelligence agency official that is the apparent main mover of the conspiracy which blacklisted Michael Westen.<br /><br /> Mahoney joined the cast of the HBO drama In Treatment for the show's second season (2009) as a frenetic CEO who is overwhelmed by his personal and professional responsibilities and experiences chronic physical anxiety attacks. Read Less

201070 Years Old
In 2010, he made a guest appearance on $#@!
… Read More

My Dad Says as homophobic retired naval officer Lt. Commander Wally Durham. Despite the numerous successes throughout his career, Mahoney has maintained that his early work in Lyle Kessler's play Orphans has "affected people more than any other play I've ever done. I still get mail from it, I still get people stopping me on the street, and it's twenty years later."<br /><br /> Beginning in April 2011, Mahoney began rehearsing The Outgoing Tide, a new play by Bruce Graham at Northlight Theatre in Skokie, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago). The play also stars fellow Chicago actors Rondi Reed and Thom Cox. Read Less

201171 Years Old
In 2011, he had two guest appearances on the TV Land sitcom Hot In Cleveland as Roy, a waiter and a love interest for Betty White's character, Elka. This reunited him with his Frasier co-star Jane Leeves as well as Wendie Malick whose character he eventually married in Frasier and his co-star in the movie The American President. Mahoney was a featured ensemble cast member in The Birthday Party, playing in Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre from January 24 to April 28, 2013.